Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Covid-19 And Work-Family Conflict: A Gendered Lens Required For Developing Organizational Benefits And Programs, Qendresa Isniqi

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted people's work and family lives. The work-family conflict has seen an increase with the onset of the pandemic as families have found themselves in complex roles such as family sustainers, teachers for their children, and family caregivers while quarantined with the same individuals for months. Concurrently there have been expectations grown from the employers to introduce effective programs or services to support employees so that an expected amount of productivity is maintained while also maintaining a sense of care for their employees. Some of the strategies suggested in the literature include flexible scheduling, leadership communication, …

The Relationship Between Organizations' Response To Customer Complaints, Customer Trust, And Loyalty, Abimbola Ajibola

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between organizations’ responses to customer complaints and their effects on customer loyalty and trust. Four hypotheses were established for this study to help us gain a greater understanding of the dynamics of the responses to customer complaints and their relationship with trust and loyalty. Five independent variables (apology, timeliness, explanation, compensation, and dialogue/active listening) and two dependent variables (trust and brand loyalty) were used to test the hypotheses. An online survey was conducted through Qualtrics and data were collected from participants who were students at a Midwestern University. Facebook …

Too Illegit To Quit: The Impact Of Illegitiate Tasks On Turnover Intentions And Well-Being, Jacob Wessels

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Illegitimate tasks are a contemporary workplace stressor characterized by perceived violations of norms about what can reasonably be expected to do in the workplace. Based on the “Stress-as-Offense-to-Self” (SOS) theory, the assignment of illegitimate tasks lead to feelings of disrespect and threatening to one’s professional identity, which is inherently stressful. The stressor has been linked to numerous strain outcomes, but the underlying mechanisms explaining how or why these relationships occur has seldomly been addressed in the literature. The present study examined whether illegitimate tasks were positively related to intentions to quit via organizational identity, negatively related to work engagement via …

A Study Of The Soft Skills That Contribute To The Success Of Newly Graduated Business Students In The Workplace, Promeet Jaswant Singh

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This quantitative study is focused on assessing the soft skills that newly graduated business students possess. Using the first and only skills inventory in the United States that has been endorsed by Department of Labor, the study seeks to determine what sets employees apart based on their level of performance on the job. The main purpose was to assess and interpret the soft skills that employees bring to the workplace soon after graduating. The population for the current study was human resources professionals from a variety of industry sectors in the state of Minnesota. The businesses represented a range of …

Gender Differences In Development Center Performance In A Healthcare Organization, Samuel Lawson

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Over the past 50 years, the assessment center has evolved into a tool used for making selection and job placement decisions, as well as for identifying development areas among incumbents to promote skill and competency development where gaps exist. The present study examined the latter, that of development centers, to address potential gender differences in performance on a variety of exercise and competency areas within a development center context. Research efforts were also directed toward the exercises and competencies themselves and the relationships between them. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to investigate exercise-competency relationships, while t-tests were conducted to investigate …

Participant Self-Assessment Of Development Center Performance, Ryan Powley

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

In order to navigate the political and cultural realities of modern organizations, individuals must possess an accurate self-perception (Ostroff, Atwater, & Feinberg, 2004). One way to gauge the accuracy of a person's self-perception is to compare that individual's self-assessment against other people's assessments of him or her. This technique is known as self-other rating agreement (SORA). Heneman (1980) posited that development centers are an ideal setting in which to study self-assessment and SORA. The present study examined self-assessment and SORA in development centers. Particular attention was paid to exercises, competencies, and gender differences in self-ratings and SORA. Correlations and t-tests …

911,What's My Emergency? Emotional Labor, Work-Related Rumination, And Strain Outcomes In Emergency Medical Dispatchers, Jessica Lee Deselms

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The work of Emergency Medical Dispatchers (EMDs) is filled with a variety of stressors, and one of those being emotional labor. Despite research on emotional labor, few studies have quantitatively examined this construct within EMDs. Compared to the plethora of emotional labor literature that focuses on the display of positive emotions, EMDs are required to suppress or neutralize any negative reactions they may experience. Hence, this study was concerned with the further examination of emotional labor, physical health outcomes, burnout, and job satisfaction in a unique population. Additionally, the construct of work-related rumination is in its infancy. It can be …

Assessing The Effect Of Personality Characteristics Of Minnesota Golfers On The Brand Equity Of Golf Drivers, Eric Schinella

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Although many researchers have focused on the attributes of a product that affect brand equity, this study focuses on the attributes of the consumer that affect brand equity. More specifically, the current study examines how a variety of golfer personality characteristics affect the equity they assign to various brands of golf equipment. The results of the survey showed that as golfers are more skilled, they are willing to pay a higher premium for their preferred driver. This may be because golfers who are more skilled tend to take the sport more seriously and will probably have no problem spending more …

Why Do Some Employees Readjust To Their Home Organizations Better Than Others? Job Demands-Resources Model Of Repatriation Adjustment, Yukiko Yamasaki

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The present study applied the Demands-Resources Model (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007) to investigate factors related to repatriate adjustment. Specifically, this study proposed three organizational factors (role ambiguity, lack of work autonomy, and absence of pre-training) as job demands, which would inhibit adjustment of repatriates. The second part of this study identified three personal characteristics (openness, cultural intelligence, and proactivity) as job resources and examined whether these characteristics would minimize the negative effects of the job demands on repatriate adjustment. Repatriate adjustment was assessed as expatriate adjustment (Black & Stephens, 1989), job stress (Lambert, Hogan, & Griffin, 2007), job satisfaction (Warr, …

An Analysis Of Reinforcers Maintaining Caregiving Behaviors Of Long-Term Care Facility Staff, Sandra Garcia

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Traditionally, the medical model has been the standard level of care in long-term care facilities. However, many facilities are transitioning from the medical model to a person-centered approach. The core of person-centered care is the relationship between frontline staff and residents. Empirical research has found person-centered care to reduce depressive and behavioral symptoms, levels of loneliness, and increase quality of care in residents; person-centered care has increased job satisfaction in nursing staff. Unfortunately, little is known about what motivates caregiving behavior in nursing staff and whether these motivators are consistent with principles of person-centered care. The current study attempted to …

Examination Of The Antecedents, Reactions, And Outcomes To A Major Technology-Driven Organizational Change, Ngoc Dinh Nguyen

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The goal of this study was to test a multi-level model of organizational change that examined how various antecedents, employee reactions, and organizational and personal outcomes relate to one another. The research was conducted via online surveys and as a longitudinal study. Participants were employees at a large supply distribution company, and were a part of the Pilot implementation of a new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. Results from the study revealed that job stress was closely related to organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and psychological well-being, while change commitment was associated with higher organizational commitment and job satisfaction. Positive training …

Direct Care Staff And Influential Factors, Michelle Jean Ryan

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The shortage of direct care workers will continue to influence the quality of care that the elderly population will receive. With the projected increase of worker shortages there will be not enough direct care workers to take care of the growing elderly population. With the baby boomer population's need for long term care, the need for qualified staff is also growing. Staff training development and consistent staffing, along with employee friendly benefits and policies will be needed to recruit and retain employees. The growing aging population, along with the increase in demand for quality care drives a need to find …

Organizational Trust As A Moderator Of The Relationship Between Burnout And Intentions To Quit, Glenn Trussell

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This research explores an individual's trust in his or her organization and an individual's perceptions of the level of organizational trust he or she receives as potential moderators of the relationship between burnout and intentions to quit. Reciprocal trust, as defined by high levels of both individual and perceived organizational trust, was also examined as a potential moderator. Research was conducted in partnership with a regional consulting firm. Survey data was collected through MechanicalTurk. A total of 2,922 participants from eighteen business sectors across the United States and Canada were represented. Level of trust was shown to significantly impact intentions …

Depth Of A Salesman: Exploring Personality As A Predictor Of Sales Performance In A Multi-Level Marketing Sample, Colleen Rose Miller

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Despite its growing prevalence in the realm of sales occupations, multi-level marketing (MLM) and its primary participants are not very well understood. In particular, there is a dearth of understanding in terms of the differentiating characteristics of individual sellers who are financially successful in comparison to those who perform poorly. This study sought to fill in some of these research gaps by exploring the antecedents of sales success by examining the validity of personality as a predictor of sales performance in the context of MLM. While significant relationships were indeed observed between certain facets of personality (specifically components of conscientiousness, …

Evidence-Based Marketing Strategies To Increase Student Membership In A Professional Association, Laura Aldrich

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Membership acquisition and attrition is vital to the survival and growth of a voluntary professional association. The percentage of social work students who are members of social work voluntary professional associations is low (Attinson & Glassberg, 1983). The purpose of this project is to understand the acquisition and attrition of students in order to develop marketing strategies to increase student membership. Voluntary professional associations value student members because they are the future of the profession and the association (NASW, 2013). Student membership in a voluntary professional association is important for students as this participation provides students with opportunities for socialization …

Real Jobs, Real Community, Real Wages: A Guide To Customized Employment, Kelsey Christy

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of this capstone project is to develop a customized employment self-guided training and an in-person training based on evidence-based research. The customized employment guide and in-person training will strive to motivate and educate various entities of Dakota County Social Services, initially implemented with AS/CLS sections, for more individualized approaches to attaining and maintaining employment. The goal of the customized employment guide and training is to have a fluid, consistent, and a readily available training tool for managers, social workers, contracted agencies, providers, and direct care staff within Dakota County AS/CLS. Furthermore, it will embody the AS/CLS value of …

Factors Assocated With Employee Satisfaction In Minnesota Community Action Agencies, Kelsie Peters

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

In 2011, the state of Minnesota faced a difficult budgetary decision. At the time of this writing, the state HHS budget had been vetoed by the Governor and State Employees were preparing for a government shutdown. Disagreement between the Republican majority and the Democratic Governor on how to balance the state budget had serious implications for Community Action Agencies that received, on average, 10% of their annual funding from the State of Minnesota in 2010 (MNCAP, 2010). Considering the fact that budget cuts would be imminent, and raises and bonuses unlikely, the researcher wanted to provide CAAs of MN with …

The Power Of Service Work: Developing A Consumer Volunteer Program For The House Of Hope, Inc., Darcy Wennes

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

House of Hope, Inc. (HOH) is a rural residential chemical dependency treatment center serving adults over the age of 18. HOH is a non-profit non-sectarian agency. Many clients at HOH have a dual diagnosis of chemical dependency and mental illness. Consumers at HOH are encouraged to volunteer, but are given limited support to do so. They have several hours in their day where there is no programming, and many consumers feel bored and unproductive. The literature suggests that there is a relationship between volunteer work carried out by consumers and their personal feelings of empowerment (Cohen, 2009) . Consumers’ feelings …

Evaluation Of Greater Mankato Area United Way's Annual Allocations Process From The Partner Agencies' Perspective, Erin A. Trytten

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This project aims to provide information to GMAUW about the annual allocations process and level of engagement with partners from the partner agencies/programs themselves. GMAUW values their relationship with their partners and realizes the importance of evaluating their own practices to ensure that the relationship remain strong and mutually beneficial. GMAUW has never had the internal capacity to complete an evaluation of this nature and will use the findings to improve their processes.

Research Question: How do GMAUW’s partners view the annual allocations process?

Does Organizational Culture Affect Employee's Readiness To Implementation Of Evidence-Based Practices?, Joseph Waller

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The emergent trend toward the use of evidence-based practices in children’s mental health services has been gaining recognition (Barwick et al., 2005). The motivation for implementing evidence-based practices is to build quality and accountability in the delivery of mental health services. Children with emotional and behavioral disorders should be able to rely on receiving services that can accommodate their personal needs based on the best scientific evidence available. Most children who receive evidence-based treatment display significant progress and do so much more quickly than children that receive other non evidence-based treatment or no treatment at all.

The importance of implementing …

Increasing Referrals For Services Through Collaboration With Community Agencies, Benjamin Mohr

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of the project is to investigate how a non-profit organization can collaborate better with other agencies to increase referrals for services. Research was conducted to determine the best avenue of increasing utilization of services in southeast Minnesota by strategic planning. A survey was conducted of 15 southeast Minnesota counties to conduct a SWOT analysis of 3 key services offered by Family Focus that are currently underutilized. Information was compiled in order to support a more comprehensive marketing plan to build relationships with county agencies and increase awareness and use of the services provided by the agency. Recommendations and …